University of Texas Film Institute and Burnt Orange Production’s “Homo Erectus” Invited to Screen at Slamdance Film Festival
AUSTIN, Texas — Dec. 6, 2006 — "Homo Erectus," a comedy set in prehistoric times, which was produced by Burnt Orange Productions in association with The University of Texas Film Institute, has been selected from 3,600 submissions to screen at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival, Jan. 18-27 in Park City, Utah.
"Homo Erectus" follows the exploits of the hapless Ishbo, a philosophical caveman who yearns for more out of life than sticks, stones and raw meat. Adam Rifkin ("Detroit Rock City," "The Chase") wrote, directed and stars in the film, which also stars Ali Larter, David Carradine, Hayes MacArthur, Gary Busey, Talia Shire and Carol Alt.
"Having a festival credit of this caliber on their resumes to go along with a feature film credit will be great for all the students who worked on 'Homo Erectus'" said Tom Schatz, executive director of The University of Texas Film Institute and the executive producer for "Homo Erectus."
More than 40 University of Texas at Austin graduate and undergraduate students worked as interns and apprentices in all stages of production on the film, including the camera department, production design, props, costumes, casting, publicity, accounting and office management.
Produced by Burnt Orange Productions and Brad Wyman Productions, in association with the University of Texas Film Institute, principal photography on Adam Rifkin's "Homo Erectus" took place in and around Austin during November and December of 2005. Filming locations included nature preserves and state parks like Enchanted Rock, Hamilton Pool, Pedernales Falls and the Longhorn Caverns. All of "Homo Erectus" green screen photography was made possible by Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellàn and was shot at their Troublemaker Studios.
"Slamdance has a knack for picking modest-budget, highly creative films that go on to great success," said producer Carolyn Pfeiffer, president and CEO of Burnt Orange Productions. "We are delighted to be a part of this film festival celebrating the independent filmmaker."
The film will screen in the 21+ special screening program, Slamdance's late night series, along with two other films, "Dante's Inferno" and "Cold Prey."
About Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival, considered an alternative to Sundance Film Festival, was started in 1995 by a group of independent filmmakers. Slamdance Film Festival has established a unique reputation for premiering independent films by first time directors working with limited budgets; the festival continues to be true to its roots and is organized and programmed by active filmmakers. Past Slamdance films have been picked up for distribution, invited to festivals around the world and have won Independent Spirit Awards, the Palm D'Or, and an Academy Award Oscar®. Slamdance Film Festival alumni include "Memento" Director Christopher Nolan, the Emmy Award-winning Russo brothers and "Monster's Ball" Director Marc Forster.
For more information, visit www.slamdance.com
Aug. 02, 2006
The
By Martin A. Grove
"Quiet" quotes: Although Jamie Babbit's "The Quiet" is a film about a family, it's definitely not what we typically think of as being a family film.
Moreover, there's nothing funny or wacky about the tragically dysfunctional Deer family that Babbit focuses on in her powerful R-rated drama "The Quiet." A collaboration between Burnt Orange Productions and the University of Texas Film Institute, it opens in New York and Los Angeles Aug. 25 via Sony Pictures Classics. "Quiet's" seemingly perfect suburban family is actually tortured by dark secrets -- like incest, prescription pain killer abuse, betrayals of trust and, ultimately, murder. Without giving anything away, let's just say that things are not necessarily the way they seem.
Produced by Carolyn Pfeiffer, Andrea Sperling, Joel Michaely and Holly Wiersma, "Quiet" was executive produced by Thomas Schatz. Its screenplay is by Abdi Nazemian and Micah Schraft. Starring are Elisha Cuthbert ("Old School") as Nina Deer, a popular high school cheerleader with a dark secret; Camilla Belle ("The Ballad of Jack and Rose") as Dot, a plain-looking orphaned teen who neither hears nor speaks and has been taken in by Nina's parents to Nina's dismay; Edie Falco ("The Sopranos") as Olivia, Nina's dysfunctional but loving mother; Martin Donovan ("Insomnia") as Paul, Nina's deeply disturbed father; Shawn Ashmore ("X-Men" franchise) as Connor, an all-star athlete who surprisingly befriends Dot; and Katy Mixon in her feature film debut as Michelle, Nina's boy crazy cheerleader pal.
It's Babbit's second feature, following her well-regarded 1999 romantic comedy drama "But I'm A Cheerleader" about a high school cheerleader whose parents think she's a lesbian and send her to a school for "sexual redirection." Although "Cheerleader" and "Quiet" both revolve around cheerleaders, they're definitely very different stories.
"I was given the script by Joel Michaely, one of the actors from 'But I'm A Cheerleader.' He was friends with the writers and their script had been work-shopped at the Sundance Writers Lab," Babbit explained when we spoke recently about how her film got made. "They were looking for a director and he had enjoyed working with me on 'But I'm A Cheerleader' so he suggested me and got me the script. I read the first 10 pages of it and thought, 'You know, I don't want to do another high school cheerleader movie.' It's the kind of thing I was offered right after 'But I'm A Cheerleader' by the studios. I think any director with any sense doesn't want to repeat themselves.
"So I called him back and said, 'Thank you, but I'm not interested.' And he said, 'Did you read the whole thing?' I said, 'No, I just read the first 10 pages, but it's just not the genre I want to do.' And he said, 'You know, it's really nothing like the first 10 pages. It takes a lot of twists and turns.' And I said, 'Really? Okay. Well I'll read it and I'll call you back.' So I continued to read and, of course, on page 11 something very interesting happens. And through the course of the script there were just a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and it started delving into territory that I was deeply interested in and certainly was a big departure from 'But I'm A Cheerleader.' I thought, 'I could really sink my teeth into this and do something different. This is kind of an interesting project.' So I agreed to come on board and try to find a cast for the movie before we were going to go to financiers."
This was about two years ago. "So we got it out to the agencies and had some covering agents," Babbit continued. "You know, there are very few agencies that will actually give their clients scripts that don't have money or other cast attached. But we were very lucky that Lori Bartlett at Gersh gave the script to her clients and we had a bunch of meetings with (them). And one of the meetings we had was with Elisha Cuthbert. She came in and said, 'You know, I've been offered kind of the same things (she'd already done by) the studios, as well. I'd love to do something different and this project is really something different.' And I said, 'That's exactly why I want to do this movie, too, because the studios aren't giving me the chance to do something different.'
"So we kind of bonded on our common goal and she said, 'I'd really like to play the role of Dot.' I said, 'Well, I don't really think you're right for the role of Dot, but I actually think you're perfect for the role of Nina.' So the meeting became about me trying to convince her that she should re-read the script and think about the Nina role. She came back to me and said, 'Yeah, I'm interested.' And with Elisha's name we were able to get other actors on board. And, basically, then Cassian Elwes at William Morris helped us get the script to Burnt Orange. They had just agreed to finance movies, so we were their first film (produced in collaboration with) the University of Texas."
Carolyn Pfeiffer, a producer of "Quiet," has been president and CEO of Burnt Orange since 2003 and was previously vice chair, master filmmaker in residence and producing head of the AFI Conservatory in L.A. The film's executive producer, Thomas Schatz, is the founder and executive director of the University of Texas Film Institute.
"Actually, Thora Birch ('American Beauty'), another Gersh client, was attached at the time (the script went to Burnt Orange) to play Dot," Babbit continued. "Burnt Orange was very interested in the cast and they were very interested in the script. Carolyn Pfeiffer thought it was an interesting project and agreed to give us the financing. So we went to Austin, Texas and about a week and a half before we started shooting Thora Birch dropped out. I was lucky enough to have seen 'The Ballad of Jack and Rose' and thought Camilla Belle would be the perfect replacement for Thora. And she happened to be a classically trained pianist, a very important element in the role, so I was ecstatic that she came on board."
Asked about casting Edie Falco, Babbit told me she "came on board because the script came across her desk. Innovative Artists gave it to her and they were my agents at the time. Edie was really interested in the character and interested in the idea of a woman who lives in a (deeply troubled) family and is in a lot of denial. She was actually doing a lot of dark projects at the time. She was doing "'night, Mother" on Broadway (Marsha Norman's 1983 Pulitzer Prize winning play about a mother trying to convince her daughter not to commit suicide) and it was the mood that she was in. She liked the script and I convinced her to come to Austin, Texas to play the role. Martin Donovan was excited about working with Edie. He (had some) trepidations about playing the role (of a father sexually abusing his daughter) because he was afraid the audience would hate him. But I just kept reassuring him that he needed to play the role like a love story and he was willing to come on. So I was very lucky."
Shooting took place in Austin where, Babbit said, "We were basically doing it as part of the University of Texas' film program. I was really excited about doing it just because I had gone to Columbia University and had interned on 'The Age of Innocence' with Martin Scorsese my senior year in college. It was such an informative time for me as a person and really gave me great insight into the way the film business works. I just learned so much. I was excited about having the roles reversed. And the great thing about UT is that they don't have a hell of a lot of films that shoot there so they were really interested in luring independent directors there to give their students that opportunity.
"The students work in a much higher capacity than they would on any other film in the U.S. because we were really encouraged to hire them at higher levels. So the still photographer, for example, was a UT student. The focus puller was a UT student. They were given very critical roles on the film. I was nervous at first because I thought, 'Wow, they don't have the experience,' but it's amazing what enthusiasm can accomplish. The students were very enthusiastic and really gave it their heart and soul and were actually better in many ways than some of the (professionals) in Texas."
This was the first film Burnt Orange made in its association with UT: "Since we made our movie in 2005, they've made three other films. One was a student project they financed. They also financed (the comedy) 'Homo Erectus,' which is Adam Rifkin's next film. And (they financed) another film after that. We were their very first film so they were definitely working out the kinks. Like they said, 'We have to hire students' and we said, 'Okay, that's great.' They said, 'Of course, you can interview them,' so we interviewed a bunch of students and the first people who came in said, 'Okay, well, I have class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., but I'd love to be the focus puller.' And I was like, 'Well, I need a focus puller between the hours of 9 and 5 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.' So we kind of had to work that out and figured (out) that the students who had the higher course load we had to give the smaller or more flexible jobs to and then we gave the graduate students who had more flexibility in their schedules the higher positions."
"We shot for 25 days in Austin, Texas and then we shot for three days in New Jersey right outside of (New York)," Babbit said. "It was basically to accommodate Edie because she was shooting 'The Sopranos' at that time. We wanted to shoot the exteriors of suburbia in New Jersey to give it more of an East Coast flavor. But all the interiors, which is pretty much most of the film, we shot in Austin, Texas.
"Shooting went really well. We shot a lot of nights. You know, the movie's called 'The Quiet' and it's a lot about secrets and certainly more secretive things happen at nighttime. We were very blessed though because we were shooting on HD (high definition video). One of the reasons I agreed to shoot on HD is because we did (need to) shoot so many interiors at night, which is exactly what HD is great at doing. So we were able to use a lot of smoke to soften the image and give it more of a film look. That was brutal, at times. I would go home and blow my nose and blood and black soot would come out! Just living in that much smoke was difficult."
Babbit also faced another particularly big challenge: "I had given birth two weeks before going to Austin, Texas. I had made 'But I'm A Cheerleader' in 2000 and four years had gone by and I hadn't made another film. I think as a director you just get so terrified you'll never make a film again so when the money came through I thought, 'Well, God, I've got to go.' But it was quite a challenge to give birth so soon (before starting production). Directing is very hard work, but I think hormonally you're given a lot of extra energy (with motherhood). Our bodies are built that way because children obviously are never asleep when they're first born. In some ways, I was blessed to have these added hormonal charges going on. I had a nanny that was helping me. I had three assistants that were shuttling my breast milk back and forth. It was a big undertaking, but it was certainly worth it."
"Cheerleader," Babbit's first movie, had premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 1999. "I was determined to premiere ('Quiet') at Toronto 2005," she pointed out. "We were very lucky. We got into the festival and we actually sold the movie at Toronto to Sony. So it was kind of what we had hoped would happen."
Asked what aspect of production she enjoys most, Babbit replied, "I like shooting the most just because I love being around hundreds of people and I like the kind of chaos and the fun and I have a lot of energy, so it's an environment that I like a lot. Editing is not my favorite process just because it is a much slower process. You're in a dark room with one other person. But what was interesting about putting the film together is it's obviously a lot of layers (of work to do). We had voiceovers. We had music. It's a character driven movie with a lot of different characters so we had to kind of balance that out. So we definitely played around a lot in the editing room and changed a lot of things and then ended up pretty much going right back to the script. It was kind of like we needed to completely change it because we realized there was a rhyme and a reason for the script and let's just go back. So it ended up coming full circle."
Looking back at the toughest aspects of production, she recalled, "The scenes were pretty emotional between Martin Donovan and Elisha Cuthbert, especially the more sexually explicit scenes between the two of them. I actually shot those on the last day of production because I figured if they go well, great, and if they don't it's the last day. But I knew that it would be difficult for Elisha, especially, and for Martin. I think sex scenes are always uncomfortable, but especially when there's such a power dynamic going on it's going to be tough for both of them. Elisha is a very strong person. She's kind of a tough cookie and I knew it would be difficult for her to go to that vulnerable place, especially in a sex scene where you really physically are in contact with someone else and you can't really fake it.
"She had to be very soft. She had to let herself be victimized. I think that was tough for her just because it's so contrary to who she is. But they're both very professional. At one point, Elisha said, 'I have to take a moment.' I said, 'That's fine.' She left and she later told me that she went in the bathroom and hysterically cried and looked in the mirror and said, 'It's just a movie. It's not real. Keep control. Go and do it!' I suspected she was probably doing something along those lines, but I figured it's really good as a director to give an actor their space when they need it. She's very professional. She looked in the mirror and convinced herself that it wasn't real and then she came back in and she did a great job."
What she found particularly interesting, Babbit told me, "throughout the process of making the film was this idea that the way that girls become friends -- which I think is very different than the way boys become friends -- is that they exchange secrets. They barter in the currency of secrets. I thought that the script was really fascinating and I kind of explored that idea. We hear so much in the press about how mean girls are to each other. I think the reason why girls can be so much meaner to each other is because they have these secrets and they can blackmail each other. It's this bizarre currency that girls deal with."
Filmmaker flashbacks: From Nov. 5, 1987's column: "20th Century Fox's new game plan for James L. Brooks' 'Broadcast News' is to open it Wed., Dec. 16 in New York, L.A., Chicago and Toronto and expand its run to approximately 650 screens Dec. 25.
"'Fox wanted to go with it at Thanksgiving very badly,' confides one source. 'The fact of the matter was that the picture could not be made ready for Thanksgiving. From what I've been able to find out from my exhibitor sources, the picture's not going to be screened to them because it won't be ready until right before Thanksgiving, which is very late.'
"While insiders expect 'Broadcast' to begin as an adult appeal film with Oscar potential, there's talk that it also stands to play to a broader audience later. 'Based on past experience, adult pictures that you can't get started (in release) early are best waiting until Dec. 25 because that's when Christmas starts for adults -- they're not shopping anymore; they're spending time with their families; and there's 'free time,' explains an observer..."
Update: "Broadcast News" got off to a very promising start in limited release Dec. 18, 1987, grossing $197,542 at 7 theaters ($28,220). It went wide Dec. 25, 1987 and did $5.4 million at 677 theaters. It wound up doing over $51 million domestically, making it 1987's 18th biggest film. "Broadcast News" received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture, and five Golden Globe noms, including best motion picture - comedy or musical and best director.
Martin Grove hosts movie coverage on the broadband television channel www.updatehollywood.com.
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